The New Neighbors
by AnOddFan
Summary: A family of OCs, with a strange resemblance to the Wattersons, has just moved to Elmore.  Dad's a living mystery, Daughter's a child prodigy, Son's a die-hard gamer.  How will they impact Elmore and vice versa?  OCs from "the Idiot who fought Gravity"
1. New in Town

** Before I start this story, take mind that this was a second attempt at writing about these OCs. Also, the kids may seem a little extreme, but they're _dynamic characters_! If you don't know what that means, then look it up. Wikipedia holds the answers to everything! (Though not always the right answers...) I also tend to get a little over descriptive. Just givin' ya fair warning.**

* * *

><p>Elmore wasn't exactly the quietest town. It was the opposite, actually. For some reason, on a particular Saturday evening in October, it was very quiet. Maybe it was that the Fingerprint Robber was currently serving time in the local jail. Maybe it was that Gumball and Darwin were playing video games instead of wreaking the usual havoc. But it was quiet for the first time in years.<p>

Then, the silence was broken when a truck was heard in the neighborhood. It was a moving truck, and it was heading for the previously vacant house about a block down the road from the Wattersons'. Not many people heard it, or really cared.

The truck stopped in the driveway at its destination. The move in took about two hours, as the boxes and furniture were only being put inside the house. The movers left rather quickly and a car came not long after that.

The car was a red sports-sedan, four seater. It pulled in the driveway, where the truck was, and its driver's door opened. An adult gray cat, with a strange resemblance to Nicole, got out. He was wearing a white long-sleeved formal shirt and charcoal slacks. He scratched his head and looked around, a confused look on his head.

"Where are the movers?" He asked nobody in particular. The back doors opened and two kids got out, both cats. The oldest looking one had violet fur and looked very similar to Gumball. He was wearing a black t-shirt with a green under-lined chevron on it and blue jeans. The younger one had gray fur and shared some very distant resemblance to Anais. She was wearing a black t-shirt with a pink star on it and light blue jean shorts.

"Maybe they were already here, Dad," The youngest one suggested, "Remember how quickly they emptied our old house?"

"Yeah I remember, Melissa," The father said, "I just hope that they put everything where I told them to..."

"As long as my room's set up, then I'm good," The older child sighed, "Vince and I are supposed to co-op tonight on Red-Zone. I'm his support sniper."

"Alright, Terry," His father said sternly as he turned to him, "We currently don't have cable. Or a phone line. Or _internet_. I'm sorry, but Vince is gonna have to go without support tonight."

"What?" Terry gasped as if he just learned of a death. Video games were currently the life of the eleven year-old boy. Online video games were the only way for him to be social.

"Hey," Melissa, his younger sister said, "You can always try to _read_ for once. Or maybe something productive!"

"I'm not taking a five year-old's advice," Terry crossed his arms, "Even _if_ you do my homework."

Melissa looked at him expectantly. Terry sighed.

"... And help me study for my tests..." He was trying to not to do this again. Melissa's stare was agonizing, though. "... And do all of my projects..." Terry sighed. Melissa nonchalantly cleared her throat. "... All of which I get A's on..." Terry sighed finally. His sister always made him do this when he tried to insult her intelligence due to her age.

"Okay, guys," Their father said, "You wanna see our new house?"

"Yes!" Melissa shouted, throwing her arms in the air. She shut the car door and ran over to the front door of the two-story house.

"Alright..." Terry sighed, bitter over the moment from before. He shut his side of the car and followed after Melissa.

Their father shut the driver's side door and pulled out his new house keys. He went to the front door and unlocked it.

As it was their first move, Melissa didn't know what to expect. Her enthusiasm was practically assassinated when she saw that the interior of the house just looked like a warehouse. A sofa here, a table there, and boxes everywhere. If not for the boxes, it would look very spacious.

"This... Is _our house_?" She asked with a face that showed slight repulsion. Despite being a genius, she didn't like the look of the place due to the boxes.

"Yep," Her father answered, sounding very pleased with himself, "Had to go to the 'emergency fund' for the money, but it's ours. Just don't go breaking the TV anytime soon, or it's coming out of both your college funds."

"Fine by me," Terry said, "Where do I sleep, study, and play?"

Deadpanning, his father pointed up the stairs. Terry went up the stairs and entered his new room. He noted that his TV was in a box on the TV stand. His dresser was in a convenient location and the only other boxes in the room were bed sheets and video games. Having a rather generous allowance, Terry owned just about every first-person-shooter game on the market at the moment.

He found the box with his sheets, made his bed, unpacked his TV and video game console, and set it all up. Now he just needed internet. He didn't care about cable, games were _everything_.

He turned on Red-Zone, a sci-fi shooter, and played the offline campaign, missing a partner to help him. He cursed the in-game AI for being so helpless.

Back downstairs, Melissa and her father had started to unpack the living room, trying to get it homely-looking. Her father paused his unpacking of a box labeled "DVDs" and turned to his daughter.

"You should probably go get your room set up, honey." He said to her.

"Why?" She asked half grunting. She was currently trying to lift up a pillow that was _obviously_ twice her own size.

"You're at least gonna want to get your bed set up," Her father said, lifting the pillow she had been trying so hard to and setting it on the couch, "Because when you're tired, you'll want to go straight to bed."

"... Alright..." She felt like her father was trying to get rid of her for some reason. She went up the stairs and found her room. She ignored the alien screeches coming from her brother's room.

She had a dresser, just like her brother, but no TV. Instead, she had a bookcase. Most of the boxes were books. They were books that one wouldn't expect anyone under the age of 17 to be reading. Melissa wasn't one for modern day media. She felt that it slowly corroded the standard mind of the average civilian. Those were the exact thoughts of this girl.

She found the box of bed sheets and made her bed, then found the book she had been reading before they packed yesterday and picked up where she left off. The book was _The Weight of Civilization on our Modern World_.

Back downstairs, their father, Jacob, opened a large box neatly labeled "attic." Inside, he found yet another box, this one made of wood. It was labeled "CLASSIFIED." He knew that there were several more of these around the living room. He quickly found more of them and grouped them all together. The only one that he dared open was the one labeled "CONTENTS OF PROJECT: FREEZER BURN_ EYES ONLY!"

The lid was on a hinge, meant to be opened and closed regularly. He flipped the lid and checked that the contents were safe. The papers seemed to be fine. There was a small black ring box inside, like one that would be found at a jewelery store. He picked it up and looked at it, letting the memories flood back to him. The ring inside was wrapped in lead-lined plastic. He remembered having to buy another one for the fiance he gained on that mission, as the one in the case was now radioactive.

He slowly put the ring case back into the box, sighed, and shut it. He replaced the no-cut combination lock on the clasp. Then, he picked up the rather heavy box and put it with the rest of the group. He sat on the sofa and looked at the current disaster zone that his new living room was. Open and half-emptied boxes were everywhere. The 52" flatscreen TV was mounted on the wall, with no thanks to Terry. Their DVD collection was on a bookcase next to the TV. That was the _only_ organized part of the first floor. The kitchen hadn't even been unpacked, except for the kettle.

He decided that it was time to call it a night. He was tired from the drive, and slightly amazed that it took the little amount of time it did. He put the "CLASSIFIED" boxes into the attic before going to bed.

* * *

><p>The next day, the three of them finished unpacking the first floor. Terry gave up when the cable guy came and activated their internet. He spent the rest of the day online with his friend Vince. Meanwhile, Jacob and Melissa worked to make the first floor nice. They organized the kitchen and cleaned the living room of all packing materials.<p>

They all went to bed quickly that night, Terry dreading the fact that he had to go to school the next day. Melissa, on the other hand, was so excited that she barely slept.

* * *

><p>They all got up around the same time in the morning. Terry and Melissa had cereal, and Jacob had a cup of tea. He didn't think that coffee was healthy. The kids left before he did. He got into his sports-sedan, backed out of his driveway, and turned on a GPS to find where his new job was.<p>

It was surprising. Even after growing up in Elmore, Jacob couldn't remember where anything was. He had joined the Army when he graduated high school, served for two years overseas, and then was offered a dream job for up to twice his current income. But that had nothing to do with why he couldn't remember the street names. After a few wrong turns and many correct turns, he arrived at his destination right on time: The Rainbow Factory.

It was definitely _not_ the first place he would expect himself to be working. Especially with _his _job experience. He parked his car and went to the front desk. He put on a fake smile and spoke to the receptionist.

"Hey," He greeted her, "I'm Jake Rhode. The new salesman?"

"Oh, Mr. Rhode..." She opened a drawer and flipped through some files, "Here we are," She pulled out a paper, "Sign here, please."

Jake read through the paper. It was something he had turned into a habit. Nothing too binding was in the contract. He signed where he needed to and handed the paper back to the receptionist.

"Your cubicle is back there," She pointed back, "I'd suggest that you go to meet the sales manager before you get to work. She's in the office on the right."

Jake nodded and went around the dividing wall. He found a sea of cubicles. Making a slight gulp, he went to the office he was told to go to. Ignoring the name on the door, just reading "Sales Manager," he knocked.

"Come in." Replied a distracted voice that made Jake lock up. It couldn't be... What were the chances?

He opened the door, hoping that the individual on the other side wasn't who he thought it was.

Nicole looked up from her paperwork to see someone she hadn't seen in a long time.

"Jake?" She asked in a disbelieving tone. Her eyes were wide with what Jake hoped was surprise and not shock.

"Hey..." Jake greeted her nervously, "Long time no see, Sis." He did a little wave, trying to lighten the mood.

* * *

><p>Terry and Melissa went to their bus stop, Melissa nodding off here and there. They got there rather early, and Melissa fell asleep on the curb. They were then approached by a group of kids of many forms. Terry didn't want to be too social. It was his first day, and school wasn't really his place. He was a hard core gamer, not wanting anything to do with anything else. This led to him being picked on at his old school.<p>

"You new kids?" The T-Rex asked the question that seemed to be on everybody's mind.

Terry just nodded, trying to ignore them. They noticed that he didn't want to talk and started their own conversations amongst themselves.

"He looks so much like Gumball..." Terry heard someone mention.

"For all we know, that _is_ Gumball." Came the reply.

"Is that his sister? She looks too young to come to our school..." Yet another person mentioned.

Terry sighed inwardly. Even when he wasn't talking, he was still the center of attention.

He heard chatter down the road as he noticed three figures heading to the bus stop. One of them, a blue cat, looked _very_ much like him. The cat in question was chattering with what appeared to be a walking goldfish and being interrupted by a pink rabbit about Melissa's height.

He heard the end of the conversation as they got closer.

"... And that is why we should _totally_ try to trick Dad into getting us into that movie on Friday!" The blue cat concluded.

"Gumball," The pink rabbit looked at him like he was crazy, "You know that that movie will not just give Dad nightmares, right? I've seen you two after a horror movie, you can't sleep thirty minutes without waking up screaming!"

"That's because of the _pure_ AWESOMENESS that can't be processed by sane people, Sis!" Gumball replied.

"Yeah, Anais," the fish, Darwin, said, "And besides, we've seen _you_ after those movies, too!"

Anais just gave up on the conversation. Nothing got through Gumball's or Darwin's thick skulls.

"Oh, look," Gumball pointed at Terry, "New kids." He was about to greet Terry when he noticed their similarities. Terry looked just like him, except for the fact that he had purple fur.

"Oookaaayyy..." Gumball was officially creeped out by the coincidence.

"Likewise." Terry said, his eyes wide from surprise as their similarities sunk in.

"I think I'm seeing double..." Darwin said absentmindedly.

"Who are you?" Anais asked Terry. Her eyebrows were cocked in confusion and intrigue.

"Terry," He answered, still staring at Gumball, "My dad, sister, and I just moved here on Saturday."

"I take it that's your sister?" Anais pointed to the sleeping Melissa.

"Yeah..." Terry plainly answered. He and Gumball shook themselves out of their trances when the bus arrived. They got on and went to the school.

* * *

><p>Jake had gotten through his awkward reunion with his sister and got situated at his new work station. Now he was on his break. He sat in his cubicle with a lunch box. On his computer screen was a very stubborn game of Minesweeper. He heard a knock on his cubicle wall. Turning his head revealed it to be Nicole.<p>

"Hey," She greeted him, "Could I talk to you in private?"

"Sure," Jake shrugged, standing up, "It beats sitting here alone."

They found a rather quiet corner away from the workplace and Nicole started the conversation.

"Jake..." She sighed, "Why haven't you called? The last time I saw you was at your wedding eleven years ago. Knowing that both you and Laura were in the military... I thought the worst..."

Jake rolled his eyes. Nicole had once been an overprotective sister, and most likely still was.

"Nicole, I left the military fourteen years ago." Jake said. This made his sister look at him with a confused look.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I was offered a better job," He replied, "Better pay, more balanced hours, more security. Though, there was more danger, too. But I was only in the Army for two years. I met Laura on one of my 'tasks'."

"What was the line of work you went into?" Nicole seemed intrigued. She hadn't seen her brother in over a decade, and he was very secretive even then.

"Let's just say that it was a form of international law enforcement," Jake tried to get around the question, "I took down bad guys and got paid for it."

"That's not an answer," Nicole replied, "What did you do after the military?"

Jake scanned the surrounding area. There were five security cameras, three of which were fitted with microphones. He needed to find a more secure place if he was to tell her the truth.

"We need to find a place that's more private for that," Jake said, "Is there anywhere that doesn't have audio surveillance?"

Now Nicole looked concerned. What kind of job would require that he keep it secret? She just nodded and pulled him to a hallway. Jake took it from there, trying to find microphones on cameras. He found a spot that seemed to work _just_ right. He positioned Nicole so that he could tell her without facing a camera. Lip readers.

"Jake?" Nicole had a confused and concerned tone to her voice.

"Sorry, had to find a safe place to tell you," Jake smiled, "I was in the CIA. I dealt with black market weapons traders, mainly pertaining to WMDs and bio-weapons. When I say 'dealt with', I mean assassinated. I met Laura when we were paired for a mission in Egypt. I proposed to her on a mission in Siberia. She was a sniper and I was a covert spotter, as in I dressed as a bad guy and spotted her targets for her." He took a breath. He felt like that topic had weighed on his chest for a long time.

Nicole looked at her brother with a look of disbelief.

"You have got to be kidding me," Nicole rolled her eyes, "I know you, Jake. There's no way that you could have been a spy."

"Better that you don't believe it," Jake said, "That makes you safer. Though, most people would _love_ to have a spy for a sibling. You get awesome bragging rights when they get out of the job."

"Well," Nicole sighed, "If you had some proof, I'd believe y-"

Jake cut her off and pulled out his wallet. He withdrew a military ID card and showed it to her.

"Black level clearance," He said in a smug tone, "Gets me into any US military installation I want, short of Area 51 or Cheyenne Mountain." Nicole looked at the card. She didn't know how to tell if it was official, but it looked like it could be.

"Alright..." Nicole sighed, "If that was what you did... I'm sorry that I doubted you." She looked at her watch, "We still have a few minutes of our break. So how's Laura?"

Jake tensed up, his eyes going wide. He trembled a little. It took Nicole a second to notice that there were tears forming under his eyes.

"Jake?" She was concerned again, "Jake? Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine..." He choked, "I have to go!" He turned and ran to the restroom, leaving a confused and concerned Nicole behind. She went back to her office, feeling rather depressed.

Several minutes later, Jacob had calmed down and returned to his workstation. He worked in complete silence, aside from sales calls. His mood remained very pessimistic for the rest of the workday.

* * *

><p>"Man..." Gumball sighed in the lunch line, "I'm tired of Ms. Simian giving us pop tests every Monday. My brain wasn't made for it!"<p>

"Well," Darwin said, a spark of moral intelligence in his eyes, "She's just trying to see if we're learning anything from her lessons. Or... Maybe everything from her lessons."

Back in their first class, Ms. Simian had been a little confused with Terry. She got over it quicker than most, though, and was lenient on him for being new. Therefore, she didn't give him a test.

Gumball and Darwin sat down with their questionable food. They were about to start eating when they noticed Terry standing by their table.

"Hey..." Terry said, "Mind if I sit here?" His mood seemed to rival that of Carrie's.

"Sure!" Darwin said happily. Gumball remained silent. He couldn't help but see Terry as his dop... Doppler group? Doppel... Oh forget it! An exact but opposite replica of him.

They sat in silence, eating. Surprisingly, Gumball broke the silence.

"So... Terry..." He started, "... Did you know that there's a girl named Teri over there?" He pointed over to a table with a bunch of girls. "She's the bear."

Terry noticed the paper bear sitting at the table. He just sighed, "Just another coincidence..."

"Hey Terry," Darwin had thought of a good conversation, "What do you like to do for fun?"

"I play video games with my friends back in Lerville," Terry replied, perking up to a conversation he could work with, "Mainly with Vince. He's 16, but he likes to hangout with younger kids."

"How do you do that?" Gumball asked. Terry stared at him as if he had just sprouted extra heads.

"I play online games," Terry said, "Do people not do that around here?"

Gumball and Darwin shrugged.

"I play them on my Ybox." Terry explained.

"Oh!" Darwin exclaimed, "I saw one of those things at Ripley 2000! It was _really_ expensive..."

"How much was it?" Gumball asked, not seeming to recall seeing one of those before.

"It was $750," Darwin replied, "It supposedly has the best graphics and games, but it doesn't have any games that we would like."

"It has a lot of games that I like," Terry said, "It has Red-Zone... Well, that's pretty much the only game that I play for it..."

"Isn't Red-Zone for adults?" Gumball asked, recalling seeing the game for sale, "I mean it's rated 'M awrmi'." (**awrmi: "And We Really Mean It!"**)

"Yeah!" Terry said, "That's what makes it so cool! It's so lifelike! Except for the gore. It would be better with less gore."

They kept on the topic of video games until they had to go to class. They picked up interests in each other's games.

Throughout the rest of the school day, Terry stuck around Gumball and Darwin. For the first time in several years, Terry had become directly social with kids his own age, or at least _around_ his age.

* * *

><p>Jake was heading for his car when he heard Nicole behind him.<p>

"Jake!" She called, running after him. He turned and looked at her.

"What?" He asked in the same depressed mood he had been in all day.

"What happened earlier?" Nicole asked, her tone very concerned, "I asked you about Laura and you ran off."

Jake stood in place, trying to think of a decent way to say his answer.

"Laura..." He sighed, "She's no longer with us..." Nicole gasped. She began to feel guilty for touching on a sore subject.

"How did..." She was searching for the correct response, "... When did... What happened?"

Jake sighed, then looked around at his surroundings. Maybe a parking lot wasn't the best place for this conversation. Then he looked at his watch.

"Maybe we can talk later, Nikki," He said, "I have to go pick up Terry and Melissa from school." This caught Nicole's attention even more. Her brother had children? She had a niece and nephew!

"Oh," She remembered that she had kids to pick up, too, "Jake!" She called him right before he got into his car.

"You can follow me to the..." She paused as she noticed what kind of car he was getting into, "Jake? How did you afford that car?"

Jake sat in the driver's seat, shut the door, and rolled down the windows. Then he looked at Nicole.

"Like I said earlier," He said, "I had a job with better pay." He gave her a smirk, "You said something about me following you?"

"Yeah..." Nicole remembered wanting that car when she was in high school, "You can follow me to the school if you want to..." She was entranced at the car.

"Sure," Jake shrugged, "Lead the way, Sis."

As Nicole went to her car, she kept thinking about Jake's car. It was a Python-850 sports-sedan! That car cost at least $350,000 when it was _used_!

She shook the thoughts out of her head when she reached her car, of which she seemed to feel a little down at the sight. She got in, started it, and waited for Jake to get behind her.

Jake followed her all the way to Elmore Junior High school. At the curb, Jake saw something that he thought he would have never seen in his lifetime. Terry was actually talking to someone around his age! And he was happy about it! Or at least he looked happy.

Terry and Gumball were talking about the new horror movie that was coming out on Friday, Antipathic Obsession. It was a slasher movie, one horror genre that Gumball hadn't, but wanted to experience.

"You know," Terry chuckled, "I heard that the last movie in the series actually caused someone to go insane from paranoia."

"Oh man!" Gumball exclaimed, "I have _got_ to see this movie!"

"It's gonna be awesome!" Darwin did a little fist pump, "Too bad Mrs. Mom wont let us go see it..."

"Yeah..." Gumball sighed, then he noticed the very familiar station wagon, "Oh, speaking of Mom." He pointed. Terry looked and saw his dad's car behind the one that Gumball was pointing to.

"And there's my dad." Terry grabbed his bag and got Melissa's attention. Melissa and Anais had been having a conversation that would have been unexpected of anyone around their age.

They headed for their dad's car while Gumball, Darwin, and Anais headed for their mom's.

* * *

><p>"So, Gumball," Nicole said when they had gotten onto the expressway, "Who's your new friend?"<p>

"Oh, that's Terry," Gumball said, "He's a pretty cool guy. It's a little weird though... We look so much alike, like we're related."

"Wait," Nicole started, "Did you say Terry? Does he happen to have a sister?"

"Yeah, her name's Melissa," Darwin answered this time, "Why?"

"Well," Nicole thought for a second, but then shrugged, "I'll tell you later..."

* * *

><p>The Rhode family was silent in their car. Melissa was reading, Terry was staring at the car in front of them (The Watterson car), and Jake was wondering why, even though he was using the GPS to get home, he was still behind Nicole's car.<p>

"Hey Dad?" He heard Terry ask.

"Yeah?" Jake replied in a stoic tone.

"Would it be okay if we take a couple of my friends to go see that new slasher movie on Friday?"

"Terry," Jake snorted, "I've seen you after a slasher movie. You're like me when I was in Egypt... Setting up barricades at your door and window and hiding under your bed."

His son glared at him. He never understood the references his father made. He knew that he had been in the military and had fought in a ground war, but that was the most he knew about the man's past. He never liked it when his father nonchalantly called him a wuss, though. Even if it was true...

"Anyways," Jake shrugged, "On to another subject. I talked to your aunt today."

"Aunt Judy?" Melissa asked, confused, "I thought she lived in Alaska."

"No," Jake said, "I mean your Aunt Nicole."

There was a silence, followed by the greatest synchronization of brother and sister in history, "We have an Aunt Nicole?" PERFECT UNISON!

If they weren't on the expressway, going at least 55, Jake would have slammed on the brakes. He had told his kids about his sister, shown them pictures, heck, he even pointed her out in an old yearbook!

"Yes," Jake said, entering his trained state of calmness and _not_ slamming on the brakes, "You two have an Aunt Nicole. She's my sister. She's also right in front of us."

Terry and Melissa's eyes widened as they noticed that the only friends that they had made that day were family members, as they were also in the car directly ahead of them. Though, they didn't know that when they had met them, "Oh." They said in near perfect unison.

After a while, they turned onto their street, Jake noting that Nicole was _still_ directly in front of him. Not much longer, she parked at the curb by her house. Jake continued by, now noticing how close he lived to his sister: One freaking block away! How did he _not_ noticed THAT!

This was going to be an interesting time for the Rhode family...

* * *

><p><strong> Sorry if my tone got a little angry near the end. Finals are this week and I'm reeeaaally stressed! I finished this fic so that I could clear my head and finish a paper that is, coincientally, <em>also<em> due this week! I hate College! Also, the whole Red-Zone thing. I actually plan to write a story on Fictionpress about that. In my mind, it's a theme cross of Halo and Killzone. Also, antipathy is an synonym for loathe. Antipathic Obsession would be about someone killing everyone they hate in their life. Honestly, it _would_ make for a good slasher movie.**

** Also, if my characters seem to have mood swings, it's because the story goes through my head faster than I can type it. That usually leads to me forgetting what I was about to type, and getting stuck on something for a while. It took me about two hours to type over 75% of this story, and about a week for the rest! But hey, look forward to me updating this rather interesting saga more frequently, as my break goes until mid-January. Man I love College! Well... It's a love/hate relationship, at least.**

**I forgot to add this before posting, but... PLEASE REVIEW! I'mma beggin' ya! It really _can_ help if I get stuck.  
><strong>


	2. Love of the Dead

**Okay, here we go! New chapter, new computer... Let's hope that my computer lemon-streak doesn't continue... Anyways, I hope to introduce a love interest for Terry in this chapter. It's not an OC. The chapter is continuing from where the previous left off.**

* * *

><p>The Wattersons were sitting down to dinner when Nicole decided it was time to tell the kids.<p>

"Kids," Nicole took a deep breath, she really didn't know how to say stuff like this, "I have a brother."

Her children stared at her confusedly. That was an odd thing to say out of nowhere.

"Okay?" Anais said in a very uncertain tone.

"He just moved back to town," Nicole continued, "He's working at the Rainbow Factory with me."

"Wait just a second," Richard paused her, "You have a brother? Why haven't I met him?" "Richard, dear, he was the guy who threatened to throw you off of the overpass at our wedding reception," Nicole said in a calm tone that shouldn't be associated with that phrase. Richard looked at her blankly, "We went to his wedding? Granny Jojo babysat Gumball for the first time? You seriously don't remember that?" Her husband's blank stare confirmed her suspicions.

"Oh, wait!" Richard exclaimed, "I remember him, now! He was still in high school when we got married. So, he was joking with me about that overpass thing, right?"

"I don't think so, Richard." Nicole simply answered, going to take a bite of her potatoes.

"So why are you bringing him up?" Gumball asked.

"Well," Nicole said after swallowing, "I noticed that you've met his kids, Terry and Melissa."

"They're our cousins?" Darwin asked in a surprised tone.

"Yep," Nicole answered, "They're your cousins."

The family ate in an awkward silence. At least Gumball had an explanation as to why both he and Terry looked alike.

* * *

><p>At the Rhode family's house, dinner was very different. They were sitting in the living room, Terry and Jake on the couch and Melissa on a chair. They were completely silent, Jake watching TV, Melissa reading while eating, and Terry eating while very clumsily playing a hand held.<p>

"So kids," Jake said, muting the TV, "Anything interesting happen at school today?"

Brother and Sister paused what they were doing and looked at their father strangely. He had _never_ asked about their school lives before, unless it involved their grades.

"Well," Terry said, "I didn't have to take a test because I was new. Other than that... Nope, nothing."

"I made a friend who was just as smart as me," Melissa said excitedly, then her tone fell, "Then, you told me that she was my cousin... That kind of killed the excitement."

"Oh," Jake said, letting silence fill the room before breaking it, "Well, I'm glad to see that you're both coming out of your shells."

"What?" Terry asked, "I've already come out of my shell!"

"Playing online computer games doesn't count," Jake pointed out, "Even if you're social with other people."

"What about Vince?" Terry suggested, "He's my friend."

"Yeah," Jake said sarcastically, "He's five years older than you. And you only met him in person once."

Terry opened his mouth to respond, but closed it. He didn't want to start an argument, especially not with his father.

"I'm glad that I have someone to have decent intellectual conversations with." Melissa stated. She then returned to her book.

"Uh-huh," Jake said, "Well, I was hoping on trying to plan a family get-together, maybe tomorrow or Wednesday?"

"Why do we have to plan it?" Terry asked, "They live right down the road. We could walk over there right now."

"That's not how we do it, Terry." His father said, un-muting the TV. It was a cop movie.

* * *

><p>The next day, Terry and Melissa went to the bus stop as they did the previous morning. Terry being the most awake. Though they were still new, the other kids didn't really pay as much attention as they did yesterday. Gumball, Darwin, and Anais showed up around the same time as before.<p>

It seemed awkward now, the Rhode kids and the Watterson kids meeting. They all knew that they were family, but it was strange to see each other in that fashion.

"So, just to make sure," Gumball said, "You guys are our cousins, right?"

"I was gonna ask the same thing," Terry said, "Our dad told us how your mom is our aunt. We honestly never knew that we had an Aunt Nicole."

"Huh," Gumball seemed to think, "You know what? I don't think Mom ever said what our uncle's name is."

"It's Jacob," Terry answered, "I think he's okay with Jake, though."

"So Terry," Darwin changed the subject, "You think that we could see some of your games?"

Gumball, Darwin, and Terry quickly moved to the subject of video games.

"One-track minds..." Anais muttered.

"At least your brothers aren't total recluses," Melissa shrugged, "The only sunlight that Terry ever gets is around school time. I think he blacks out his windows like a vampire, or something."

"Hmm..." Anais replied, "Hey Melissa," the rabbit decided to start a normal conversation, "Do you like physics?"

"Astro or Particle?" The young feline replied with a smirk.

* * *

><p>Nicole was sitting in her office, the charts on her computer meaningless to her current thoughts. When Jake had flashed his ID to her, she had noticed the name was somewhat different. She felt that she should confront him on that issue, as well as the subject of Laura. Also, it wouldn't hurt to see if they could get the family together on the weekend.<p>

She shifted her mind back to her work after writing down a quick reminder. She worked until her lunch break, going to speak to her brother again. She approached his cubicle, finding him still working with headphones on. He always did work better with music playing.

She also noticed that he had begun to decorate his workspace. There were six pictures, two on the desk and four pinned to the fabric-wall. One was an older family picture with a twenty-nine year old Jake on the left, six year old Terry in the middle, the late Laura on the right, holding a sleeping newborn Melissa. Another was Jake and Laura's wedding photo, Jake on the right in his formal Army uniform and Laura in a wedding dress on the left. One picture caught Nicole's eye the most, it was a beat up photo of Jake and Laura. In it, they were covered in dust and dirt and on an arctic landscape, an ominous cloud in the background. Jake was wearing a torn-up white dress shirt and Laura a torn-up black uniform. Jake was holding his left arm, which was completely red, and had a make-shift bandage on the right side of his head. Laura had several cuts and bruises all over her body, most notably on the face. Yet, they were still smiling, Laura holding up her hand, on it was an engagement ring.

"Can I help you, Nikki?" She heard Jake ask her.

"Huh, what?" She came out of her daze and noticed her brother looking at her intently, "Oh, yes. I just wanted to talk a little more. I know you kind of gave me a recap of your life yesterday, but there's just a few more things I want to know." She then noticed something that she should have sooner. Jake's right ear wasn't up, and it hadn't been up since before his wedding. It had always been folded back, while the other ear was perfectly normal.

Jake nodded and logged off of his computer. As he turned, he noticed what Nicole had been staring at. He unpinned the photo from his cubicle wall.

"That was in Russia," Jake said simply, "I was gonna propose after we finished our work, but complications made me do it sooner." He stood up and brought her to the area that they had spoken in yesterday. Once again, taking note of security cameras.

"Okay, what do you want to know?" He asked.

"Hmm..." Nicole wanted to ask in a certain order, "Let's start with that photo." She pointed to the picture that Jake had absentmindedly brought with him.

"Alright," Jake sighed and then took in a deep breath, "That was in 2000, in Siberia. We were on a simple kill and retrieve mission. We were instructed to kill an arms dealer and retrieve a stolen weapon from him. The brass should have told us it was a nuke. Laura was going to cover me when I killed the guy. Of course, when I found that it was a nuke, I was gonna call off the mission, but the director wouldn't allow it. So, I continued my task and neutralized the guy. I'm not going into any of those details. The second he hit the ground, I had about fifty rifles aimed at me, and then Laura started covering me. I'll skip those details too. During the fight, someone activated the warhead when Laura and I got to our extraction chopper. We got about a mile out before the bomb went off and crashed us. I took shrapnel to the ear and a stray shot to the arm. Laura just got banged up. Shortly after I returned to consciousness, I pulled out the ring and proposed. I was on my back and possibly hypothermic. It was still a great feeling for her to say yes, though."

"Oh," Nicole smiled, then said sarcastically, "How romantic."

"Yeah," Jake said, "It was something that you had to be there for."

"Well," Nicole hesitated her next question, "I was also wondering something else. Why did you take Laura's name when you two got married?"

"Oh..." The word faded slowly, "Yeah... That was something that we agreed on. I like to think that it was for security reasons, but I'm not sure anymore."

"I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with it," Nicole said, "I'm just wondering why."

"I guess that Laura and I were a unique couple." Jake shrugged.

"I can take that as an answer," Nicole smiled, "Now, I'm just wondering one more thing for now."

"Shoot," Jake said, "Not literally, but you get what I mean."

"Would you like to get the family together for the weekend?" Nicole asked with a hopeful smile.

"Yeah," Jake answered, "I was gonna ask you that after work."

"Great!" Nicole exclaimed, "We'll get the details later, I think we need to get back to work now."

They both went back to their workplaces.

* * *

><p>Terry was walking from his locker, which he had just been assigned. He looked up, trying to remember where to go when his eyes met hers. They both paused. Terry had a feeling that he couldn't fully describe. The sounds of their surroundings faded away to nothing. Terry's heart was beating faster, he honestly didn't know what it was. It wasn't scary, it was... Incredible.<p>

The moment was interrupted by Gumball, tapping him on the shoulder. Repeatedly.

"HEY TERRY!" Gumball shouted, nearly knocking the boy off of his own two feet.

"Why so loud?" Terry looked at his cousin, rubbing his ear. It was obvious that Gumball had been trying to get his attention for a while.

"What were you looking at?" Gumball asked.

"Actually, Gumball, I think we should be wondering _who_ he was looking at." Darwin corrected.

"What?" Gumball looked at his brother.

"He just had the same look you do when you look at Penny." The fish pointed out.

"I really look like that?" Gumball asked.

"Yeah," Darwin said, "Pretty much."

"So, who were you looking at, Terry?" Gumball asked him again.

"Well, I don't know her name..." Terry sighed, "And... You know what? I wasn't looking at anything." He smiled awkwardly to get them off of the subject. He didn't feel like he could go through teasing because of a crush.

"Oh!" Gumball seemed to catch on, "Alright, cuz. Let's go to class." He winked at him. Gumball still tried to cover things up quickly. Terry would soon perfect it, as it didn't take long to get used to.

The violet cat's mind was on other things as Ms. Simian talked about... He didn't even know what she was talking about! Another person in the same room was in a similar state. It was so strange that they felt that way about each other.

At lunch, Terry sat with Gumball and Darwin again. Instead of joining in conversation, though, he stared at the girls' table. She wasn't paying attention, as she was currently talking with that cloud girl, Masami.

"Terry," Gumball shook him out of his daze, "Dude, you've been like this all day. I feel like I need to ask. Who is it?"

Terry's attention left after Gumball said "dude." This time, Gumball followed his cousin's gaze to the girls' table. It could be any one of them!

"Just describe her, man!" Gumball said out loud.

"... Goth..." Terry mumbled.

That ruled out all but one.

"Carrie!" Gumball and Darwin asked in unison. They didn't mind the girl's personality, but she didn't have a body. Literally! Terry liked her?

"Carrie..." Terry mumbled in a distant tone.

"Uh, dude?" Gumball said, "There's a few things you should know about her."

"Uh-huh..." Terry replied, staring. His eyes were literally sparkling.

"I don't think he's listening, Gumball," Darwin said, "Let me help." Gumball moved aside and Darwin.

Over at the girls' table, Masami was talking about... Whatever, Carrie didn't care. That new kid in the hallway, she had felt emotions that she hadn't felt even when she was alive. She let her gaze wander away from every one at the table, eventually letting her gaze fall on the purple feline she had only met before first period.

"Uh, Carrie?" She heard Penny ask from what sounded like miles away, "Carrie!" It was like she was calling her...

"Hey, Carrie!" Masami shouted. If she could shake her, she would have.

"Huh, what?" Carrie shook her head and looked at the rest of the table. They were all looking at her confusedly. All except for Masami, who was glaring. She hated when people ignored her.

"Are you alright?" Teri asked.

"Yeah," Carrie answered, "I'm just distracted is all."

Masami began to put it together. Her look turned to a sly smile.

"So Carrie," She said smugly, "Who is it?"

"Am I really that much of an open book?" Carrie winced at her own question.

"Well, considering that you smiling is a rare occasion," Penny explained, "It's a little obvious."

"Fine..." Carrie sighed, "It's the new kid in our class."

"Him!" Just about every girl at the table asked in unison.

"Yeah," Carrie admitted, "We met in the hall-"

She paused when a loud and painful sounding slap was heard from across the cafeteria. Their gazes darted over to Gumball and Darwin's table, where Terry was now rubbing the back of his head, which was very red.

"Sorry Terry," Darwin apologized, "But you were completely out of it. I had to fish-slap you to wake you up."

The violet cat's eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open as he continued to rub the fin print on his cranium.

"I thought you were a pacifish." Gumball said.

"That wasn't violence," Darwin replied, "I slap you all the time."

"Ow..." Terry squealed finally. If anything could bring him down to earth, it was _that_.

"So," Gumball said, "Now that we've got your attention, there's a few things you should know about Carrie."

"Are these pros or cons?" Terry asked after getting over the slap.

"Kind of a mix," Gumball said, "You may want to pay attention..." Gumball and Darwin explained to Terry what kind of person Carrie was. The biggest thing was that she was undead, as if Terry hadn't noticed it yet. They also told him about the time when Gumball lent her his body so that she could eat. Overall, it only made Terry like her more. Many of the bad sides of the story didn't matter to him.

As they day continued, Terry and Carrie kept sharing glances. But when they were getting ready for gym, Terry came to a conclusion.

"Guys," Terry rubbed his arm in shame, "I... I can't talk to girls..."

"It's not that hard, man," Gumball said encouragingly, "You just talk to them like you would anyone else. Unless you want to get their attention." Gumball seemed to think.

"Oh..." Terry said, "I guess that's not too hard..."

After school had just let out, Terry went to approach Carrie before she got on the bus.

"Oh, hey." She waved a little. Her tone was much nicer towards Terry than anyone else.

"..." Terry, despite being purple, showed blushes very well. The entirety of his face was beet red. He looked up at her, nervous, and spo- "I LOVE YOU!" His eyes went wide and his heart seemed to have stopped beating. Carrie looked a little shocked as well. Not two seconds after he said that, he was running back towards the school. How loud had he just spoken?

"Wow," Gumball said, him and Darwin sitting on the steps, both were smirking, "You got straight to the point there."

"I didn't mean to say it!" Terry's face had somehow gotten redder, "I was gonna try talking to her, but it just came out!" Terry sat on the steps below the two brothers and buried his face in his hands, "She's gonna hate me now, isn't she?"

"It's okay, Terry," Gumball said reassuringly, "I do that all the time with Penny, and either bail or cover it up. She doesn't mind, even if I scare her every now and then."

"Yeah..." Terry smirked, lifting up his head, "Yeah, she'll probably pass it off as some weird thing that happened. Or maybe even nerves."

They kept where they were and waited for their parents to arrive. Once again, it was at the same time. Wattersons and Rhodes got into their respective cars and left the school.

* * *

><p>"Hey Terry," Jake said as they got onto the expressway, "You look kinda stressed. Something happen at school?"<p>

"I'm in love..." Terry said in an indecipherable tone.

"Really..." Jake half-smiled, "What's her name? What's she like?"

"Her name's Carrie," Terry said, still in the strange tone, "She's kind of a downer at first, but she seems like a really nice ghost." Terry blushed, "Plus, she's cute too..."

The car swirved a little, and Jake asked, "Did you just say she's a ghost?"

"Yeah," Terry replied, "She's kind of goth, too, but I like her."

"How do you know you like her?" Jake looked at his son.

One again, Terry blushed, "Well, right when we met, it was weird. I don't know how to describe the feeling."

"Alright," Jake said, "That sounds just about right."

"How would that work out if they wanted to get married?" Melissa spoke up.

"What?" Father and son asked at the same time.

"Isn't there a 'till death do you part' agreement?" The little sister asked.

"I'm sure that they'd figure it out, honey." Jake answered.

The car was silent now. Jake turned on the radio to fill the noise gap. It was a hair-band station.

* * *

><p><strong> Okay this chapter was more OC-centric, but I was in a hurry. I've been planning the OCXCarrie relationship since before I started to write this story. Anyway, I'll probably post a family Christmas chapter either on the 24th or the 25th. I'm gonna try to include more Melissa in later chapters, but I'm still building her character structure in my mind. Also, I'm sorry if Terry seemed like a near copy of Gumball in this chapter, once again, I was in a hurry to post this before the 23rd. Have a Happy Holidays my readers! My account's birthday is approaching, too! Nearly a full year of Fanfiction! Woo hoo! Please review.<strong>


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